01 The milligram on the tablet is the indication
Propecia's how-to-take is one 1 mg tablet once daily for male androgenetic alopecia. Proscar's how-to-take is one 5 mg tablet once daily for BPH. The INN is the same. The leaflets are not. Hair trials used 1 mg. Prostate trials used 5 mg. PCPT, the prevention trial people quote, used 5 mg, not the hair tablet.
Cash-per-milligram arguments show up in forums because 5 mg generic can look cheaper. This margin will not invent those dollars. It will say the split is a quality and handling problem, and an indication problem, before it is a receipt problem.
Import Finpecia 1 mg is still a 1 mg story if the INN line is honest. It is not a reason to start quartering Proscar "until the import arrives."
02 Why a quarter of 5 mg is not 1 mg on a good day
Tablets are not uniformly dense like a scored pediatric liquid. Coatings exist so pregnant people can handle intact Propecia. Once you cut Proscar, that protection is gone and dose uniformity is a hope. Four crumbs are not four 1.25 mg doses. People then take "a bit more" on shedding days and lose the daily 1 mg idea entirely.
The insert's crushed-tablet warning is about male-fetus external genitalia. It applies to broken 1 mg and broken 5 mg. A household with a pregnancy should not run a cutting board for either strength.
Pharmacies that say they will not split Proscar for hair are matching the labeled products, not being difficult. Ask for 1 mg generic if the plan is hair.
| What you hold | What the leaflet is for |
|---|---|
| 1 mg daily | Male hair loss (Propecia-class) |
| 5 mg daily | BPH (Proscar-class) |
| 5 mg cut into fifths | Not a labeled hair method |
| Either strength, crushed | Keep off pregnant hands |
03 Switching from kitchen quarters back to an intact 1 mg
Tell the lab the switch date. The milligram history matters for PSA. Propecia 1 mg moved mean PSA from 0.7 to 0.5 ng/mL by month 12 in the younger men the insert cites. Proscar 5 mg lowers PSA by about 50% in BPH work. Quarters sit in a messy middle.
Do not skip tablets the week of the test to "get a true PSA" unless they asked. Non-adherence scrambles the trend the other way.
A confirmed rise from the lowest on-drug number needs a look even if it still looks normal off the drug. That sentence lives on both leaflets.
Do not stay on 5 mg for BPH and add 1 mg for hair as a Bordeaux yes. That is 6 mg of the same INN. Ask the person who wrote the 5 mg.
High-grade prostate-cancer talk from the 5-ARI prevention-trial era is urology, not a reason to hide 1 mg from a GP.
04 PSA week on either strength
Write finasteride on the lab slip. A "normal" printout can hide a rise from your lowest on-drug value. Propecia 1 mg moved mean PSA from 0.7 to 0.5 ng/mL by month 12 in the younger men the insert cites. Proscar 5 mg lowers PSA by about 50% in BPH work.
Do not skip tablets the week of the test to "get a true PSA" unless they asked. Non-adherence scrambles the trend the other way.
A confirmed rise from the lowest on-drug number needs a look even if it still looks normal off the drug. That sentence lives on both leaflets.
If you switched from quarters of 5 mg to intact 1 mg, say the switch date. The lab cannot guess the milligram history.
High-grade prostate-cancer talk from the 5-ARI prevention-trial era is urology, not a reason to hide 1 mg from a GP.
05 Both strengths move PSA; do not hide the 5 mg as "just hair"
Propecia 1 mg lowered mean PSA from 0.7 to 0.5 ng/mL by month 12 in the younger men in the insert's studies. Proscar 5 mg lowers PSA by about 50% in BPH studies. A man who quarters 5 mg "for hair" still needs the lab to know he takes finasteride. The number on the printout is already shifted.
Any confirmed rise from the lowest on-drug PSA needs a look even if it still looks "normal" off the drug. That sentence is on both leaflets in different words.
The sexual-AE margin is the other reason people switch strengths at home. Switching to 5 mg because 1 mg "was not strong enough for hair" is the wrong lever. Hair response is months, not milligrams of leftover BPH stock.
06 How a new imprint still has to say 1 mg before you leave the counter
Generic 1 mg tablets change shape. The how-to-take stays one tablet daily if the bag still says finasteride 1 mg for hair. If the bag now says 5 mg, stay at the counter. Do not "fix it" with a splitter in the car.
Ask whether anyone at home can become pregnant. A more brittle generic still becomes dust when it snaps. Intact coated 1 mg is the intended hair handling form on the leaf.
Import Finpecia 1 mg is a 1 mg story only if the INN line is honest. It is not a reason to quarter Proscar until a shipment arrives.
This page will not invent a cash-per-milligram number. Receipts belong to sourced 1 mg boards, not to a homemade fifth.
If a clinician wants 1 mg generic, they write 1 mg. Indication still follows the leaflet, not the exchange rate of a 5 mg box bought abroad.
07 Travel and a 1 mg blister
Keep tablets intact in the original pack. A cut board in a hotel bathroom is how crumbs meet a pregnant traveler.
Do not buy 5 mg abroad as a cheaper hair plan. Indication still follows the leaflet, not the exchange rate.
Blood donation rules differ. Ask before you book. Do not stop 1 mg the night before as a silent workaround unless they said that gap is enough.
Missed holiday doses: restart 1 mg daily. Do not run 2 mg to catch up. Follicles do not cash doubles.
Mail [email protected] if we implied 1 mg treats BPH. We do not.
08 Donation desks, hotel bathrooms, and a 1 mg blister
Many services defer men on finasteride because of fetal-risk rules. Ask before you book. Do not stop 1 mg the night before as a silent workaround unless they named that gap.
Keep tablets intact in the original pack on a trip. A cut board in a hotel bathroom is how crumbs meet a pregnant traveler.
Missed holiday doses: restart 1 mg daily. Do not run 2 mg to catch up. Follicles do not cash doubles. See the AE margin if the holiday stop was about sexual change.
Mail [email protected] if we implied 1 mg treats BPH. We do not.
Blood donation rules differ by country. This margin will not invent a universal hold.
09 How to leave the pharmacy with the strength that matches the job
Read the bag before you leave. 1 mg and hair, or 5 mg and BPH. If the bag and the plan disagree, stay at the counter. Do not "fix it" with a splitter in the car.
Ask whether anyone at home can become pregnant. Broken 5 mg pieces make that warning live. Intact coated 1 mg is the intended hair handling form.
If the pharmacist offers to split 5 mg under a clinician's note, that is their responsibility, not this margin's method. The leaf still locks 1 mg daily for hair.
Import Finpecia 1 mg is a 1 mg story only if the INN line is honest. It is not a reason to quarter Proscar "until the import arrives."
This page will not invent a cash-per-milligram number. Receipts belong to sourced 1 mg boards on the leaf's fill strip, not to a homemade fifth.
10 Write the strength that matches the job
Hair: 1 mg daily, intact tablet. Prostate: 5 mg if that is the written plan. Reviewed 21 August 2026, Elise Moreau.
Read the bag before you leave. One milligram and hair, or five milligrams and BPH. If the bag and the plan disagree, stay at the counter. Kitchen quarters are not a labeled 1 mg unit. Pregnant people must not handle crumbs.
Write finasteride on every PSA slip. A normal-looking printout can hide a rise from your lowest on-drug value. Do not skip tablets the week of the test unless they asked. Tell them if you switched from quarters to intact 1 mg.
Import 1 mg brands are still a 1 mg story only when the INN line is honest. They are not a license to quarter Proscar. This page will not invent a cash-per-milligram number.
The Propecia leaf locks 1 mg daily. Mail [email protected] if we treated 5 mg as a faster hair plan.
A new imprint after a refill still has to say 1 mg on the bag. Shape and color can change between makers. Indication cannot. If the bag now says 5 mg, go back before the first split.